Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Aristóteles y Dante se sumergen en las aguas del mundo by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

44 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Aristotle and Dante give me hope, make me laugh, make me cry. Rarely does an author so clearly understand and intimately describe what it means to be human and more importantly, what it means to love and be loved. This book made me feel so many things. I can’t express how important this book is — for so many people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Outing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, and War

martapsalvado's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You know when people say "sequels are never as good as the original"? Yeah... Benjamin Alire Sáenz showed up and said "not this time".
I love Aristotle and Dante. I love those two boys since the first time I read the first pages of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the World. But it's not only that. I love their families, their friends, their teachers, their hometown. This book is such a world in itself and I feel like I dove into it and returned with love, lessons and inspiration. And it's so beautifully written. I feel so priviledged for having the opportunity to experience reading this.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia

Minor: Pregnancy and Violence

menomica's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I think this book was a chronology of the life a gay teen boy growing up in the 80’s.  It was really sweet to see Ari’s life develop how watch him connect more with people. It was pretty clear that a lot of the thoughts and reflections in the book were thoughts of Sáenz. Idk. Very much enjoyed this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Bullying

Minor: Religious bigotry, Child death, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, and Hate crime

abigail_bowling's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

i cried a lot… i haven’t cried reading a book in a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Homophobia, War, Xenophobia, and Terminal illness

Minor: Deadnaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Outing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Transphobia

contre_qui's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This is a really beautiful follow up to the first book, but it's much sadder. The first one feels realistic, this one feels real. The rest of the world finally comes into play, and it's scary because being a gay teen in the 80s was scary. But it's also beautiful. It's not a smooth ride, but there is a happy - or at least hopeful - ending. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Transphobia, and Violence

mirireads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia

Moderate: Grief and Racism

Minor: War, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, and Transphobia

nextkt's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Benjamin Alire Sáenz isn't a perfect writer. His prose is achingly beautiful and often funny in a way that makes you want to cry, but the plots of his books often err on the side of melodramatic and to enjoy them you must have a soft spot for bible-esque affirmations reflecting on life and how to live it right. Despite this: his writing is kind. Kind and honest. And both of these qualities are so prevalent in this book it almost made it difficult to read. It's an earnestness that makes you want to avert your eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: War

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

First of all, thank you Mr. Ben - I know that this book was a labor of love for you and how much it means to you that you finally have put it out into the world.

This is a sequel that I never thought was going to come, and when it finally arrived on my doorstep, I was so happy that I think I cried a little. This is a continuation of Ari & Dante's story, but it's a lot more than that. It's the story of Ari's journey to self acceptance, a story of love, loss, and growing up. It's about letting people love you even when you would rather be invisible. It's about closure, it's about romantic love, familial love, and the love of friends. It's all there. I annotated and highlighted the HELL out of this. I think I had a highlighted line on nearly every page. I just feel like getting to have read this is what I needed during this period of my life.

slight spoilers right here -

Having said all that though, I do share some criticisms and concerns that other people have about the story in general, specifically with the way transphobia presents itself and the way some characters are pushed to come out before they are ready. These were both things that occurred in the first book that I only realized were a problem years later, and I was slightly disappointed to not see them rectified.

Overall, however, I love this book. I love these characters and how they love and take care of one another. I love Dante Quintana more than I love any other boy in literature and I know that I will return to this again, just as I've returned to the original book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Sexism, Blood, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use

Minor: Vomit, Self harm, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing

collyofthewobbles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Deeply moving and emotional continuation of Ari & Dantes story.
Their families play a bigger role in this book and i feel it is richer for it. It’s hard to go into detail with the story without spoilers.
But once again Benjamin Alire Saenz has written a highly emotionally intelligent book, that will stamp itself into your heart.
These characters do not leave your conscious easily and will sit with you for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Pregnancy, and Grief

Minor: Transphobia, Toxic relationship, and Murder

dhruthick's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia

Moderate: Pregnancy and Racism

Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, and War